Abstract
The depletion of root-available calcium in northern forests soils exposed to decades of increased acid deposition adversely affects forest health and productivity. Laboratory studies indicated the potential of wood-decay fungi to restore lost calcium to the rooting zone of trees. This study reports changes in concentrations of Ca, Mg, and K during decay of sapwood of spruce, maple, hemlock, and birch at two locations in northern New England, USA. Concentrations of exchangeable Ca, Mg, and Al in decayed wood residues after 10 and 12 years of ground contact were also compared. Significant loss of mass indicated by decreasing wood density occurred after two to eight years in conifers and after only two years in hardwoods. A significant gain in wood K was observed at two years, but the gain was not sustained. A significant gain in Ca concentration occurred by six years and that gain was sustained for 12 years. Concentrations of Mg varied. No significant difference in exchangeable Ca concentration was observed between decayed wood residue of spruce and maple and the forest floor. However, decayed wood residue had a much lower molar Al/Ca ratio, a conditional characteristic of sites with high root-available Ca.
Highlights
Ecto-mycorrhizal fungi (EMF) and wood-decay fungi (WDF) in forest soils have major effects on biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C) and essential mineral elements in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems [1]
The same pattern for spruce was observed at Penobscot Experimental Forest (PEF) with a maximum of 18% after eight years; whereas, mass loss in hemlock at PEF began after two years with a maximum of 22% after eight years
Spruce wood decayed by nine different wood-decay fungi for eight months in vitro had a range of mass loss of 2%–69% with an average of 28% ± 20% [20]; southern beech wood decayed by 12 different wood-decay fungi for four months had a range of mass loss of 0–90%
Summary
Ecto-mycorrhizal fungi (EMF) and wood-decay fungi (WDF) in forest soils have major effects on biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C) and essential mineral elements in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems [1]. Nitrogen and P along with potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) are essential for C fixation in photosynthesis and for the functioning of the symplast, the interconnected network of live cell contents in the outer wood and inner bark from root tip to foliage. As part of this special journal issue on ECM fungi, we present the complementary perspective of WDF as promoters of soil fertility through improved Ca availability [3]. The apoplast and its degradation products sequester carbon for decades, centuries, and millennia, and in the case of coal, for millions of years
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